HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Shares Acquired by Epoch Investment Partners Inc.

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. grew its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 14.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 756,510 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 93,219 shares during the quarter. HCA Healthcare accounts for 1.1% of Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $227,066,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC bought a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter valued at about $18,044,000. NRI Wealth Management LC acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,896,000. Czech National Bank raised its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 39,543 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,869,000 after purchasing an additional 1,691 shares in the last quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter valued at $1,122,000. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 116,075 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,840,000 after buying an additional 8,329 shares in the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

Shares of HCA stock opened at $334.38 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $82.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.22, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.48. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $328.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $334.61. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $289.98 and a fifty-two week high of $417.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.03 by $0.19. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.16% and a return on equity of 586.47%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.90 EPS. Analysts predict that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. This is a boost from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Baird R W downgraded shares of HCA Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $405.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $384.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com lowered HCA Healthcare from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $336.00 price objective (down from $396.00) on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $381.67.

Insider Transactions at HCA Healthcare

In other news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.59, for a total value of $3,075,250.47. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,412 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,971,757.08. The trade was a 38.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About HCA Healthcare

HCA Healthcare, Inc, through its subsidiaries, owns and operates hospitals and related healthcare entities in the United States. It operates general and acute care hospitals that offers medical and surgical services, including inpatient care, intensive care, cardiac care, diagnostic, and emergency services; and outpatient services, such as outpatient surgery, laboratory, radiology, respiratory therapy, cardiology, and physical therapy.